Who Are You Calling an Extremist? [Reader Post]

This might have happened recently or it might just be the “Frog in a pot of boiling water” effect, but the recent controversy around Chick Fil A and gay marriage made me notice how that debate fits into a bigger picture. I’ve read articles, seen blog posts, and seen tons of electrons spilled on Facebook1 over the Chick Fil A / Gay Marriage issue. I’ve noticed that a great deal of the leftist sentiment often uses carefully crafted language to define their opponents’ positions – “against gay rights”, “anti-gay”, or my personal favorite, “Extreme anti-gay”. Aside from my referring to people who disagree with me as leftists (which as far as I can tell all of them have been), I try to avoid labeling other’s views, as it takes away from the argument itself.2 For example, I’ve followed the lead of other right-leaning writers in labeling people in the abortion debate by their chosen monikers of “pro-life” or “pro-choice”. All of that said, I’ve noticed a disturbing overuse of one particular word that I just noted – extreme.

We see the extremist moniker applied to any conservative position:

Believe that marriage is between a man and a woman? Extreme anti-gay.

Are you against abortion? Extreme anti-women

You’re also part of the “War on Women” if you support a woman’s right to choose to buy contraceptives with her own money but don’t want to buy them for her yourself

Against allowing our president and Congress to spend more money than we could ever hope to repay? Extremist!

Believe in the rights of citizens to defend themselves? Extremists under the influence of the gun lobby

Tea Partiers? Fuhgetaboudit – Believing that the government shouldn’t spend at insane levels so as to fund new and inventive ways to intrude in our lives is extremist, not to mention racist!

Sadly, we don’t see people on the right call out the Democrats or leftist journalists (but I repeat myself) when they throw out these buzz words. Naturally, everyone sees their own opinions as perfectly reasonable, but from what I’ve seen Conservatives use the “extreme” label a lot less frequently. Phrases like that are useful to try to paint yourself as the reasonable person in the debate while your opponent is out on the fringe, but it’s not useful for that respectful dialogue that leftists claim to want.

To go back to one of my favorite “extremist” arguments on cutting government spending versus raising taxes to balance our budget, I’ve already done the math and explained that tax increases will not work, and I’ve drawn the perfect analogy:

Leftists truly believe that we can balance our budget with a combination of spending cuts reduced rate of government growth along with tax increases on somebody else. To illustrate why this plan will not work I compare our economy to a car that is driving at 100 MPH and sees a sign that there is a cliff a mile away. The conservative will say that we need to alter our course by at least 90 degrees or we will drive off of the cliff. The leftist at the wheel will call for a balanced approach of slowing down to 80 MPH and altering our course by 30 degrees. While your driver is patting himself on the back for being reasonable and the balance of his bipartisan approach, at the end of the day the economy does its best impression of Thelma and Louise.

You can call me extremist all you want, but while nobody likes the guy who holds an intervention, keeping our country alive is not extremist. Driving us off of a fiscal cliff is.

And as much as leftists hate to admit it, their party has taken a leftward turn that can not be described as moderate. Anyone who has followed the president’s policies over the last few years can see it firsthand. There have been smaller signs too. Remember porkbusters.com? That was a site dedicated to exposing pork spending projects when we had a Republican president. For some mysterious reason it went inactive some time in late 2008. I’m not sure what happened, but it might have been around the same time that dissent stopped being the highest form of patriotism. Even more disturbing was one segment of the Democratic party that went away. Back in the early 2000s I was looking for a good moderate Democratic site for news. One of my lefty pals recommended the Democratic Leadership Council – the DLC. I signed up for their newsletter and heard from them at various times until early 2010 – Apparently they disbanded. Given all of the other events happening around that time this would not have been a big news item (unless it was about the GOP), but it was one sign that in today’s Democratic party there is no longer room for moderates.

I want to close with a favorite example of how leftists like to think that conservatives have “become” so much more extreme than years ago. They do this by bringing up Ronald Reagan, who while they loathed him while he was alive has now become a model “leftist”. They like to point out that based things like his tax increases (I’m not giving a link on this one – if you think Reagan loved raising taxes do your homework on his deal with the Democrats in Congress) and that given his overall record he could never have been elected in today’s toxic, extremist environment. Those are fair points to raise, and easily shot down but the kind of points that deserve to be debated. So let’s look at this from another direction…

Do you think that Bill Clinton could even get elected to the Senate in today’s environment? I doubt he could even get out of a Democratic primary today. He is a Democrat who:

Negotiated a massive trade deal with our neighbors

Signed welfare reform into law

Was on the verge of making a deal with Newt Gingrich to reform and save our Social Security system when Monicagate broke and had both parties circling the wagons

Look where we are today – getting minor bilateral trade deals is a phenomenal chore, President Obama decided to use an executive order to gut welfare reform, and fighting Social Security reform was the rallying cry for Democrats after the 2004 election. It looks like the only major policy of Clinton’s that Obama likes were his tax increases.

Far be it for me to judge, but could it be that our president and is supporters are…. extremists?

1.My Facebook citation may not be an accurate sampling, as I think that most of my FB friends, or at least the most vocal wants tend to be leftists or center-left.

2. My personal exception is the issue of global warming climate change. I always refer to them as global warm mongers or as followers of an anti-scientific religious cult. I know it’s not the most constructive way to debate, but since nobody on the left is willing to renounce the fools who continually label any naysayers as “flat earthers”, “Holocaust deniers”, or “anti-science”, I’m not going to afford your side any respect if you won’t do the same. Curse the British all you want for bombing Dresden, but it only happened after years of the Luftwaffe bombing their civilians. That said, I’ve had some very enjoyable debates with my saner friends from that side of the issue.

About Brother Bob

Blogging by the credo of "Making the world a more offensive place, one blog post at a time", Brother Bob started writing posts around the beginning of the Obama presidency over at Brother Bob's Blog. A born-again Existentialist and self-professed libertarian with conservative tendencies, he has ironically chosen to live in the Washington, DC area - deep behind enemy lines. He has always loved history, and spent eight years volunteering as a tour guide on weekends, giving over 200 tours to roughly 2,500 mostly foreign guests. His tours were highlighted by stories generally not found in the history books or most other tours, such as the importance of the Battle if Antietam, the origins or Arlington Cemetery, and dispelling the myths of FDR's New Deal.
Although his favorite subject to blog about is Economics, as seen in his Economics for Politicians series, his posts try to address angles that other conservative writers and the mainstream media (naturally!) miss. "There's no point in putting up a post on a subject that someone smarter than me has already written". He believes in the "Happy Warrior" approach, and tries to inject humor in his posts, sometimes successfully. Two such examples are his posts comparing the modern left to the horrible Star Wars prequels, and analyzing the laments of a DC woman in search of a feminist boyfriend.
Brother Bob lives with his very patient wife known as Sister Babe, and their fantastic son. Little Bob. Little Bob is also the reason that being a tour guide came to an end, as spending Saturdays raising a son takes priority over giving lectures to foreign visitors on the folly of Keynesian economics.
BB is also grateful for the opportunity to take his place among the outstanding writers at Flopping Aces, appreciates every person who takes the time to read his posts, and especially those who join him in the conversation in the comments.

ThunderGod

Some good words to use in “debate” with the Statist:

Theophobe = hates all Religions and/or religious people {also believes in kooky stuff, like AGW}
Christophobe = specific hatred towards Christians/Christianity {usually also has some Father issues}
Judeophobe/Zionophobe = hatred of Judaism, or couched as “dislike of Isreal”
Asprophobe = fear/hatred of the color “white” {prone to use the term “whiteness”}
Melanophile = preference for brown skin/prejudiced against any other color/shade skin

AdrianS

Conservatives (Republicans) and other right-wingers are everyday distracted by the Obama campaign. The Obama campaign sets the tone. They forward lies and false information about Romney. Yet the right seems to take it all like a kitten that is easily fooled and distracted with a fake rat.

There is much, much more damaging and very harmful information that the Romney camp can use against Obama. Never mind that Obama has been president for almost 4 years; Obama has done nothing – unless it’s been harmful to America. Obama is useless. And what do you do with something that is useless? You through it out. Get it out of the way.

Not only is it a mistake for Romney and his PACs to respond to Obama’s lies; but they must hit Obama harder, much harder. And within each and every response commercial, mention some of the many failures Obama has had. Unemployment is still over 8%, Obama is attempting to undo by himself what took in the Clinton presidency the Congress and a bill to attain (that being the work for welfare). Is there any need for a Congress if Obama can just mandate the kind of “legislation” that usually takes the legislative branch months to pound out?

I ask then. What if Obama, after he loses, refuses to leave? How will Obama be forced out? Doesn’t Obama know he is spent (literally)? Obama is a functional lame duck. That’s why he’s doing the unconstitutional things he’s doing.

And what about those who oppose same-sex perversion? Anal copulation among men and boys? Obama should just say that those who support the Boy Scouts and Chick-Fil-A’s opposition to same-sex-marrage (as do possibly a majority of the not-to-be-forgotten silent majority), it is the Boy Scouts and others’ CONSTITUTIONALLY protected right to oppose perverts and moral perversion.

Brian Miller

Homophobia is more pronounced in individuals with an unacknowledged attraction to the same sex and who grew up with authoritarian parents who forbade such desires, a series of psychology studies demonstrates.

Brian Miller

Zelsdorf Ragshaft III

Can any of the gay guys and gals provide a biological purpose for homosexuality. It would seem a mutation designed to end procreation. That unless someone has had ovaries grafted up their anus. On the ladies side it is just not something any man would ever understand. I, myself, am male lesbian. I have and organic strap on.

Randy

@Brian Miller: Unfortunately, it is not a scientific fact. It is a hypothesis. There was no scientific controls or process used to develop the hypothesis. That is the difficulty with you lay people. You fali to understand the difference between a scientific study and a paper developing a hypothesis or theory.

Brian Miller

Never said it was a fact, reading comprehension isn’t your thing, is it? Anyway, interesting study. Seems to have really hit a nerve among the less secure. Who cares why gays are gay, it really doesn’t affect me.

Just quoting the article-ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2012) — Homophobia is more pronounced in individuals with an unacknowledged attraction to the same sex and who grew up with authoritarian parents who forbade such desires, a series of psychology studies demonstrates.

Brian Miller

Funny, the original article hardly mentions gay themes, yet looking at the replies from the “conservatives”, nearly a third are centered on the gay theme. Of course us lefty/liberals bring it up because we are probably gay or something, but why is it so interesting to you “straight” folks? Why do gay thoughts bother you so?http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120406234458.htm

Randy

Zelsdorf Ragshaft III

Brian, I suspect you would not recognize the truth if it bit you on you butt. The truth is most of the world’s civilizations have little tolerance for homosexuals. They serve no purpose outside of self gratification. If it were not for the left trying to weaken the moral fibre of this nation, there would be little tolerance here. Contrary to what you may or may not believe, societies have the right and the power to decide behavior. There was a time when being a bastard, like yourself, was a societal shame. Now bastards like Obama can be President. (Let us see the marriage licence). Homosexuality is just one small step up from sex with creatures other than human. I guess that is why you liked working on a goat ranch.

Brian Miller

@Zelsdorf Ragshaft III:
Nazis in the closet like you are afraid…..insecure…why is that? The black man scares you, the gays, women…..is there anything a real man like you isn’t afraid of? And then YOU imagine goats……you really have no idea about self-awareness, do you?

Brian Miller

“Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says: 19
Brian, ……There was a time when being a bastard, like yourself, was a societal shame. ….. Homosexuality is just one small step up from sex with creatures other than human. I guess that is why you liked working on a goat ranch. ”

“ilovebeeswarzone says: 22 -CURT
BRIAN MILLER is a real creep here and on different post, he play by insulting any posters, he choose, just for his fun, no other reason.
bye. and he was given many hints from many bloggers”

Brian Miller

@ilovebeeswarzone:
Your CAPS lock is stuck on again, it’s the button on the far left of the keyboard, the one that has CAPS LOCK written on it. Just trying to be a good member of the community and help out where I can, it’s the liberal in me.

Brian Miller

ilovebeeswarzone

Brian Miller
yes they are the best, and I can’t stand a person like you annoying them on purpose.
you are use to trash blogs, but this one has more class, there is no room for people to bring hate,
we know you come from OBAMA SIDE. they all bring the same hate,
aren’t you tire of dragging your hate,
are you getting paid for it? I know that OBAMA pay a lot of young people to stir trouble
for the CONSERVATIVES, you probably are one of his crowd, shame on you.

ilovebeeswarzone

Brian Miller
no lies here no one need to lie, why do you lie?
what’s this last comment you gave to anticsrocks it is full of your lies, and personal attacks,
why do you do it if you don’t work for OBAMA?
are you on drug or mentaly disturb?
you don’t show a normal behavior,